So I recently bought the Al5D boarduino lynxmotion robotic arm kit, and I cant seem to get it to work. When I try and connect it to my computer via usb cord, only some servos move to their extremities and others don’t move at all. This is the only source of power it receives as when I flip both switches to turn on power nothing happens. When trying to connect to flowbotics studio, it also does not recognize the robot. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
P.S. When viewing the page I bought my robot from I couldn’t help but notice my control board looked similar to the mainstream ones but was also different in a multitude of ways which became a problem when following the manual which could be a source of this problem.
@MacKraft123 Welcome to the RobotShop Community - we’re here to help.
- Do you have an order or invoice number so we can verify which product you purchased?
- Can you provide several clear photos of the electronics and the connections? This will help us see which board you have, and also that the connections are correct.
- Can you confirm that any servos which use servo extension cables are coor matched at each connection (yellow to yellow, red to red, black to black)?
- Unplug the arm from the wall adapter and the USB, and set both switches to ON and take a photo showing the switch and the rear. For example, the image here shows a switch in the OFF position: http://www.lynxmotion.com/images/product/medium/wh03.jpg The ON position would be pointing “towards” the two wires connected at the base.
- Have you tried connecting to the FlowArm software directly? Link here:
https://www.robotshop.com/en/flowarm-pltw.html
Hi thank you for responding!
The order confirmation number is 966582 and pictures of my wiring can be seen below:
- You have a programmable BotBoarduino, not an SSC-32U. The BotBoarduino microcontroller board (the green PCB) is not meant to work with FlowBotics.
https://www.robotshop.com/en/lynxmotion-al5d-4-degrees-freedom-robotic-arm-combo-kit.html
You need to upload Arduino-compatible code in order to get the arm to work. We can link to code etc., but if you’d prefer something compatible with FlowBotics, we can look into an RMA, or you can order the SSC-32U:
2 - See point 3. If you want to continue to use the BotBoarduino as the controller, the section of pins powering the servos is set to 5V rather than VS. See section 7 associated with the first image: http://www.lynxmotion.com/images/html/build185.htm
You also have power from the USB conflicting with VS, since you have VL powered via USB and VL=VS. You need to remove jumper 13 (VL=VS).
3 - Can spot at least one place where the wires cross over (and therefore the servo would not get the signal). Verify each cable one by one. Example:
If you plan to continue with the BotBoarduino, you’ll need to read through the BotBoarduino manual linked to above, and take a look at these pages:
http://www.lynxmotion.com/images/html/build091b.htm
If you’re new, and just want to get up and running quickly, the SSC-32U is the easier appraoch.
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Ok Thank you for your help but I just have one more question. I modified the board based on the instructions you gave me but whenever I try to connect the board on the Arduino website it doesn’t register. Do you happen to know why this is?
Might be one of several things:
- Ensure the FTDI VCP drivers are installed and the board is detected.
- Verify you have selected the right COM port
- The board type is Arduino Duemilanove
- You can set the power to the logic (VL) to be USB via the jumpers, so the microcontroller is powered from USB.